Ovid’s Abruzzo: Beauty is a Fragile Gift

In the aftermath of the incredible devastation brought about by the recent earthquake in Italy, we thought it a fitting tribute to focus our attention on the country’s fifth largest wine producing region, Abruzzo, whose capital is the medieval city of L’Aquila, the epicenter of the deadliest quake to hit Italy in 30 years. Our hearts go out to the many people who have been affected by this tragedy and who are now faced with the daunting task of rebuilding their cities and their lives.

Only 50 miles due east of Rome, Abruzzo borders the regions of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west, Molise to the south, and the Adriatic Sea to the east. It is either considered part of Central Italy or part of Southern Italy, depending on whether the bureaucrats are speaking, or the geographers.

Abruzzo is like a microcosm of the whole Italian landscape, with nearly 100 miles of coastline dotted with pine trees, cliffs, dunes and long stretches of beach, a huge mountain range, the Gran Sasso massif (with the highest peaks in the Apennine mountains), and verdant slices of vineyards and olive trees interspersed with some of Italy's best-preserved medieval and Renaissance hill towns. One third of the region is designated as national or regional parkland, including the Abruzzo National Park, one of Italy’s biggest, and the only place in the country where bears still roam.

Winegrowing in Abruzzo dates back to around the sixth century BC. As far back as the first century AD, local drinker, and sometime poet Ovid sang the praises of the area’s wines, going through his own kind of metamorphosis from sober to drunk and back again.

The principle production of wine comes from two grape varieties: For reds and rosés, Montepulciano (the grape, not the Tuscan town), and for whites, Trebbiano.

The most complex Montepulciano is from the Teramo Hills in the north, where the soils are a mix of clay and limestone. Elevations and micro-climates are higher and cooler due to the proximity of the Apennines and the vineyards get just the right mix of mountain and sea air for optimal wine growing. Abruzzo’s first DOCG wine, Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Colline Teramane, around the hills of Teramo, was only recently designated in 2003. Montepulciano can make wines that are intensely colored and soft, with sweet tannins, low acidity, mouthfilling fruit and full bodied character. A certain funky and earthy flair is also typical. Approachable young, Montepulciano wines can age nicely, though usually without much change in character. Montepulciano grown in the mountainous inland tends to have less color and tannin and is often used for the very quaffable rosés, called Cerasuolo.

Trebbiano tends to suffer from averageness, due to overproduction and, sadly, the grape itself, but can pair well with fish when it’s young and fresh. A few exceptions to quality exist and are thought to be from another grape called Bombino, most notably by the alchemical producer Edoardo Valentini, who seems to defy every preconceived opinion of this lowly grape.

Other top Abruzzo producers are Masciarelli, Dino Illuminati, Villa Medoro, and Emilio Pepe.

Many of Italy’s noble varietals are successfully cultivated in the Abruzzo’s sunny hills. Sangiovese is second to Montepulciano and is very often blended. Moscato was popular for sweet wines in earlier centuries (et tu, Ovid?) but is no longer approved in the region. New plantings are currently underway with Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Pinot Bianco, Pinot Grigio and Riesling.

Fish stew is a coastal classic, but Abruzzo is known more for its hearty and rustic fare that originates in the rugged mountains, and is often strongly flavored and spicy. Meat dishes include lamb, mutton and pork. Pecorino cheese is made from ewe’s milk. The traditional “la panarda,” a meal consisting of some 30 plus courses, was an icon of Abruzzian cuisine – the kind of dinner party that might even have defeated Martha Stewart. Perhaps that was what Ovid was referring to when he wrote “Endure and persist; this pain will turn to good by and by.”

The Blend’s Monthly Featured Producer: EMIDIO PEPE

Four generations of Pepes have kept this winery going in the Teramo province of Abruzzo by making complex, even exotic, handcrafted wines that have achieved a certain cult status among drinkers looking for excellent quality and natural diversity from vintage to vintage. In fact, Emidio Pepe prides themselves as being the only winery to offer a range of their Montepulciano wines dating back to the 1960s, and each year expresses something unique. Founding Pepe Emidio’s grandson Emidio, and the younger Emidio’s daughters Daniela and Sofia, have moved things in an organic and biodynamic direction and in recent years have expanded the vineyards and elevated the production in the cellar.

The grapes for their Trebbiano whites are hand harvested and pressed by foot (remember feet?). The Montepulciano grapes that go into their extraordinary reds are sorted and de-stemmed by hand and then vinified in large cement vats where they rest on their lees for two years. Once bottled, the wines are patiently stacked in the wine cellar one on top of the other, where they can age for 20 or more years in the underground cellar.

Each bottle is carefully hand-decanted by Emidio’s wife Rosa who literally pours wine from one bottle into another, eliminating the sediments and preserving its personality and balance, and is finally hand-labeled before entering the market.

Adhering to a manifesto of natural vine growing and wine making, which includes such guidelines as farming their vineyards without using chemicals, respecting the vine and its natural cycles, using only natural yeast, and vinifying without manual intervention, Emidio Pepe is a winery whose beautiful wines seem to embody their philosophy, reflect their rural traditions, and capture our imagination all at once.

Recommended Wine:

Emidio Pepe Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 1998
The Pepes say that one can breathe their passion for wine in the 37 acres (15 hectares) of their family vineyards. Certainly, one can breathe the wonderful aromas in their complex and subtle Montepulciano d’Abruzzo 1998, released a full ten years after being vinified. Handmade from grape to glass, using biodynamic and organic methods, with no fining or filtration, this extraordinary wine reflects an attention to detail and respect for tradition that exemplifies what a local wine, that is a wine that comes from a specific place, ought to taste like. At a recent Slow Food/Gambero Rosso tasting in Los Angeles this was our “wine of the day.” Offering impressive depth, complexity and balance, we like to think of it as a true “grandma’s attic” wine, with hauntingly beautiful floral, cocoa and caramel flavors and smells that conjure a kind of nostalgia for somewhere secret and fragrant. The Italian Wine Guide awarded this Montepulciano “three glasses,” noting the “elegantly persuasive palate.” It’s an age worthy wine as well that should continue to show well for another twenty years. And while it may be hard to come by, one shouldn’t hesitate to look for other vintages.

Did You Know that Buying a Bottle of Wine at a Restaurant is a Better Deal than Buying a Glass?

Relatively speaking, of course. The typical restaurant that offers wines by the glass has to guarantee a profit on every bottle purchased from their supplier. That means if they pour that bottle “by the glass” to their customers, they assume a certain risk that if they open it for one customer who only wants one glass, after a day or so if no one else buys a glass of that wine, they will have to use it for cooking or to offer to their indiscriminating staff at the next employee meal, or to simply pour it down the drain. That’s actual profits being poured down the drain. To avoid that unfortunate outcome, a restaurateur will charge enough money for one glass to make up his wholesale purchase price of the bottle. That roughly translates to a 300% markup on the wine, or inversely, a 75% profit margin. When selling wine by the bottle, no such risk is involved, and while the costs of storing the bottle, paying for the wine cellar cooling system, stem ware, wine lists, etc. add up, the restaurant can afford to sell that bottle for cheaper than it could if it was to sell it by the bottle. That means a smaller markup for the consumer – usually 1.5 to 3 times, depending on myriad factors, including the “swank” factor and the “greed” factor. So if you’re looking for a good deal on wine on your night out, go ahead, splurge. Buy it by the bottle.

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